What Are the Warmest Cities in Nebraska?
In this article I’m going to share with you my ranking of the warmest places in Nebraska.
I created my list by researching data provided by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and other climate data providers.
Below I’m listing the top 10 warmest places in Nebraska that have the highest average yearly temperatures. Later in the article I share a table with 30 most populous cities in Nebraska.
Top 10 Warmest Cities in Nebraska
Here are the top 10 warmest places in Nebraska ranked by their daily mean temperature, based on weather data collected by the NOAA. The differences in the average annual temperatures between these cities are small. But when compared to the coldest cities, they’re still a few degrees warmer.
For the top five cities I also give average winter and summer temperatures.
1. Falls City – daily mean temperature of 53.1 °F
The small town of Falls City (4,100 residents) is the warmest city in Nebraska. It’s situated in Southern Nebraska, close to the borders with Kansas and Iowa. The average daytime temperature in the summer is between 85-88 °F while in the winter it’s 36-41 °F. The low temperature in the summer is between 63-66 °F. Winter nights are very cold, with temperatures between 17-21 °F. While Falls City doesn’t have the warmest winters in the state and its annual high temperatures aren’t the highest in the state (that title goes to McCook), its average annual temperature is the highest so it places first.
Winter temperatures: highs of 36-42 °F, lows of 17-21 °F
Summer temperatures: highs of 85-88 °F, lows of 63-66 °F
2. Omaha – daily mean temperature of 52.45 °F
The most populous city in Nebraska, Omaha, is the second warmest city in the state. According to weather data, its annual daily mean temperature is a little over a half degree cooler than in Falls City. The difference is most notable outside of the summer. Omaha has maximum temperatures lower by up to 2-3 degrees than Falls City between fall and spring.
Winter temperatures: highs of 34-39 °F, lows of 15-20 °F
Summer temperatures: highs of 84-88 °F, lows of 63-68 °F
3. Lincoln – daily mean temperature of 52.3 °F
The second largest city of Nebraska, Lincoln, places third in this ranking. The biggest difference between Lincoln and Omaha is that Lincoln gets slightly hotter summers. In the hottest month (July), temperatures on average reach 89.4 °F while in Omaha they reach 88.1 °F. In exchange, Lincoln has slightly cooler nighttime temperatures. Average high temperatures in the winter in Lincoln are about two degrees higher. Overall, the difference between these two major cities is small as they both get the same amount of sunshine and don’t vary that much temperature-wise.
Winter temperatures: highs of 36-41 °F, lows of 14-18 °F
Summer temperatures: highs of 85-89 °F, lows of 62-67 °F
4. Grand Island – daily mean temperature of 51.8 °F
Grand Island, the fourth most populous city of the state, is located in central Nebraska, 94 miles west of Lincoln. While it has a lower annual temperature than Omaha, it has slightly warmer winters that are like those in Falls City.
Winter temperatures: highs of 36-40 °F, lows of 16-19 °F
Summer temperatures: highs of 84-88 °F, lows of 61-66 °F
5. Fairbury – daily mean temperature of 51.55 °F
Fairbury is another city located in Southern Nebraska. It lies on the Little Blue River, 98 miles west of Falls City, by the border with Kansas. While its average low temperatures are lower than in the previous cities, its high temperatures are some of the highest.
Winter temperatures: highs of 36-41 °F, lows of 14-18 °F
Summer temperatures: highs of 84-88 °F, lows of 60-65 °F
6. Nebraska City – daily mean temperature of 51.4 °F
Nebraska City, a town of 7,200 residents, is located 44 miles south of Omaha and 51 miles east of Lincoln. Like Omaha, it lies on the Missouri River, by the border with Iowa. Nebraska City has the same winter daily highs as Omaha and colder nights. Its daily highs in the summer are cooler by 1-2 degrees compared to Omaha and 2-3 compared to Lincoln.
7. Hastings – daily mean temperature of 51.35 °F
Hastings, a city of about 25,000 residents, is situated 26 miles south of Grand Island. With its annual average temperature lower by a half a degree there aren’t big differences between these two cities. The biggest one, though still small, is that Hastings gets slightly cooler weather in the summer.
8. Beatrice – daily mean temperature of 51.35 °F
Beatrice is a town of 12,000 inhabitants that lies 42 miles south of Lincoln. It has the same yearly daily mean temperature as Hastings, though its average high temperatures are 0.5 °F higher and its low temperatures are 0.5 °F lower.
9. McCook – daily mean temperature of 51.15 °F
McCook is a town of 7,500 people, located in the southwestern corner of the state, close to the border with Kansas and relatively close to Colorado. Out of the 30 cities I researched for this article, McCook has by far the highest average maximum temperature of 66 °F. The reason why it’s ranked ninth is because its average low temperature of 36.3 °F is much colder than in the previous cities (its nighttime temperatures are colder year round).
If you’re looking for the mildest winter in Nebraska (as for daytime temperatures, not at night), McCook is your best bet. Its winter highs are between 42-45 °F compared to 33-41 °F in the previous cities. This is the hottest temperature you can find during the winter months in Nebraska. At night, McCook sees temperatures of 14-16 °F, which are 2-3 degrees lower than in the previous cities.
10. Crete – daily mean temperature of 51.15 °F
Crete is a town of 7,000 people 26 miles southwest of Lincoln. It has the same annual daily mean temperature as McCook but its winter days are more like in Omaha (cold) than like in McCook (mild for Nebraska’s standards).
Video Summary of the Warmest Nebraska Cities
30 Biggest Cities in Nebraska Ranked by Daily Mean Temperature
I created the table below by researching data for the most populous municipalities in Nebraska. When I couldn’t find data for a given city, I moved on to another. While the list includes 30 cities, some of the bigger cities may be missing because there was no data for them. Please check the closest geographically city then.
| City | Average high temperature (°F) | Average low temperature (°F) | Daily mean temperature (°F) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Falls City | 64.2 | 42 | 53.1 |
| Omaha | 62.8 | 42.1 | 52.45 |
| Lincoln | 64.1 | 40.5 | 52.3 |
| Grand Island | 63.2 | 40.4 | 51.8 |
| Fairbury | 63.7 | 39.4 | 51.55 |
| Nebraska City | 62.6 | 40.2 | 51.4 |
| Hastings | 62.7 | 40 | 51.35 |
| Beatrice | 63.2 | 39.5 | 51.35 |
| McCook | 66 | 36.3 | 51.15 |
| Crete | 62.4 | 39.9 | 51.15 |
| Papillion | 62 | 40 | 51 |
| Gretna | 61.2 | 40.3 | 50.75 |
| York | 62.9 | 38.3 | 50.6 |
| Ogallala | 63.9 | 37.3 | 50.6 |
| Columbus | 60.9 | 40.2 | 50.55 |
| Fremont | 61.6 | 39.4 | 50.5 |
| Blair | 61 | 39.5 | 50.25 |
| Wahoo | 61.5 | 39 | 50.25 |
| North Platte | 64.8 | 35.1 | 49.95 |
| Seward | 61.1 | 38.8 | 49.95 |
| Holdrege | 62.8 | 37.1 | 49.95 |
| Scottsbluff | 64.7 | 35.1 | 49.9 |
| Kearney | 62.1 | 37.6 | 49.85 |
| Sidney | 62.8 | 36.1 | 49.45 |
| Norfolk | 60.9 | 37.6 | 49.25 |
| Wayne | 59.4 | 37.2 | 48.3 |
| Broken Bow | 61.6 | 34.5 | 48.05 |
| Chadron | 62.5 | 33.5 | 48 |
| O'Neill | 59.6 | 35.8 | 47.7 |
| Alliance | 62 | 33 | 47.5 |
Check the Warmest Cities in Neighboring States
If you’re interested in learning about the warmest cities in states neighboring Nebraska, check out the following articles:
- What Are the Warmest Cities in Colorado?
- What Are the Warmest Cities in Iowa?
- What Are the Warmest Cities in Kansas?
- What Are the Warmest Cities in Missouri?
- What Are the Warmest Cities in South Dakota?
- What Are the Warmest Cities in Wyoming?
Also check my article on the warmest cities in the US in every state.